Warning that the country is becoming "a caste system of colleges and universities," U.S. Department of Education Secretary John King recently called on education leaders to do more in recruiting and helping low-income students succeed in higher education.

A foundation dedicated to increasing the number of Americans who possess degrees, certificates and other kinds of credentials has funded a $1.8 million project to demonstrate that community colleges can adopt and use diverse credentials within their communities.

California's North Coast Region School Districts are adopting digital courses focused on agricultural science at 16 area high schools and two community colleges in an effort to help students explore career interests and aspirations.

Researchers from the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies have been awarded a $2.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop and study a professional development program to help middle and high school science educators teach their students to argue scientifically.